Congressman Steven Horsford Demands Community Investments Necessary to Addressing Systemic Racism

Washington, D.C. -- Today, Congressman Steven Horsford took part in a forum discussion with the Congressional Black Caucus on Police Accountability in America. The forum comes just days after the Congressional Black Caucus and House and Senate Democrats unveiled the Justice in Policing Act, a bold reform to curb police brutality, end racial profiling, and eliminate qualified immunity.

"Racism is the crux of the issue that we do have to address -- but it is not just racism in our police departments. It is racism in every other system: education, housing, health care, jobs. This is the first of many steps," Congressman Horsford said. "Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our state and local government budgets are about to be severely impacted. Priorities are going to have to be set. We must ensure that our investments in our communities are used to combat this systemic racism for the future of our country."

The Congressman joined his colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus in posing questions to Connie Rice, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Advancement Project, Darius Bellinger, the CEO of Chasing23, Alicia Garza, a Co-Founder Black Lives Matter and Raheem DeVaugh, a Grammy nominated singer and songwriter.

The Congressman also posed questions about corporate response to the movement for police reform to Patrisse Cullors, a Co-Founder Black Lives Matter and Founder of Dignity and Power Now, and Minneapolis City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison. That can be watched below.

Earlier this week, Congressman Horsford introduced the Justice in Policing Act which will take key steps to achieve transformational, structural change to end police brutality in America:

• Bans chokeholds;
• Stops no-knock warrants;
• Ends the qualified immunity doctrine that is a barrier to holding police officers accountable for wrongful conduct;
• Combats racial profiling;
• Mandates data collection, including body cameras and dashboard cameras;
• Establishes new standards for policing;

Video of the Congressman's testimony can bewatched and downloaded here.